Khabib Nurmagomedov earned the third submission of his UFC career on Saturday when he forced a tap from Conor McGregor at the 3:03 mark of Round 4 of their UFC 229 matchup. More importantly, the victory kept Nurmagomedov’s perfect record intact at 27-0. But the most notable thing about the win was that it halted the talk that Nurmagomedov is not the “real” UFC lightweight champion.

Nurmagomedov won the vacant 155-pound crown at UFC 223 when he defeated late replacement Al Iaquinta by unanimous decision. His opponent at UFC 229, which took place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, was the man who had that title stripped from him after he did not defend the strap in a timely manner.

In the co-main event, Tony Ferguson defeated Anthony Pettis via second-round TKO. The high-energy, blood-soaked battle ended when Pettis could not answer the bell to begin the third round thanks to a broken hand.

The headlining bouts were only two of the eight stoppages on the 12 fight card.

You can relive the slow-motion "Fight Motion" highlights from the event right here.

I am a freelance writer who has covered a wide variety of topics over the years. I’ve written about crime, technology, fitness, and entertainment for a variety of outlets. These days I mostly focus on MMA as a contributor to MMAjunkie and now Forbes. I make my home in Balti...